Education > Software in Spreadsheets > Sales Systems 101

In Accounting Studio Magic, you learned about a very basic way to think about bookkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting. You learned that a "Sales System" in parallel with, but not directly integrated with a Bookkeeping System" running small business scenerios is the best way to learn about accounting no matter if your end need is in fact for personal, small business or large business. 

• If you haven't gone through the Orientation Menu items now, that might be ideal for some. as you will learn about the 6 box model and other models that may help with understanding.
  
• That said, it is not required for this and that theory may be best digested after some experience is had with the Sales System. 

The Diagram below details the procedrual flow for a business that uses Invoices and/or Statements for their billing process. Invoices are generally thought of much like receipts.  Each transaction gets it's own invoice and payment is made against that invoice. Statements should be thought of more like a running Bar Bill that carries over for days or weeks. When that bill is finally presented for payemnt it has multiple transactions from multiple days on it. 

• In the end, both invoices and statements present items that need to be paid for.
  
• Invoices generally only reflect activity on a single given day. Multiple transactions on that day would generation multiple invoices. They are basically receipts needing to be paid for. 
  
• Statements are designed to present multiple transactions over a period of time on a single bill.  Larger companies that issues statemetns often times also issue invoices with each transaction. Smaller companies and those in the hourly billing or contracting business that bill on statements don't typically create invoices for each encounter. 

Study the diagram below.   Start with the top box and follow the arrows down and to the left side. 

• Go all the way down the left side to the bottom.  
• Exit the bottom box to the left where the "1" is. 
• Return to the top and go through it again a second time.  
• At the second to bottom box, exit to the right this time, where the "2" is. 
• Flow through the right side of the diagram, and then stop at the bottom right hand box. 

You now have a clearer view of a general framework for Accounting Systems than most were able to glean with months or years in the prior educational systems. 

​For our next step in this process, we are going to suggest a series of reading exercises followed up with hands on exercises with several of our Sales Systems.

1. ​Go to "Software > Box 1 > Invoicing 101 -  Pete's Electric
   1. Read the Product Introduction Guide in entirety (coming soon, not there as of 12/1/2021). It's only a few pages of intro, a reference to the same chart as above and then mostly pictures. 
   2. Click on the Template link on that page and view the template in "view only mode". 
   3. Click "File > Make a Copy" to get a copy on your own google drive.  (or click File > Download As and get a copy in a spreadsheet format that works for you)
   4. Play with it. 
2. ​Go to "Software > Box 1 > Statements 101 -  Martha's Counseling
   1. ​Do the exact same thing with it as above with this template. (the Product Intro Guide IS THERE as of 12/1/2021 for this template)

At a later date we are going to offer some exercises to perform with each template,  but for now, just make up some things and play with them.  With these two exercises you will have just completed Sales Systems 101. 

We expect to offer a Sales Systems 102 and possibly a 103. 

• We will get into progressively more complex sales systems and different types of systems with each step
• You will see the added complexity in a sales system should NOT change the healthy separation between the Sales Software and the Bookkeeping Software and that is the most important take away you need to hang on to as things get more complex on the left, while remaining the same on the right.